People saying this is cheap version of Heat or comparing to it Heat are looking at this completely wrong. Is it inspired by it, yes of course but it’s comfortably doing its own thing and knows exactly what type of film it is.
- Director – Bart Layton
- Runtime – 140 minutes
- Certificate – 15
- Country – United States
And what it is, is a sleek and high octane crime thriller. If there’s one thing above all else that this film is, it is entertaining. From the robbery sequences, the car chases or to even just Mark Ruffalo being an honest cop in this corrupt world. All of it was entertaining.
Unfortunately it is not as well written or cohesive as Michael Mann’s Heat. I still think it’s well written I just think that if anything, there is too much going on. The film synopsis is that Hemsworth’s character Mike Davis and Halle Berry’s Sharon work together for a big heist. But that only happens when there is about an hour left and only last for around 5 minutes. Until then there are a bunch of other subplots that don’t really go anywhere. The main one for me is Monica Barbaro’s Maya and her relationship with Hemsworth. They don’t spend that much time together and where they end up felt inconclusive.
These subplots lead to my main gripe with the film and that is the runtime. There is no need for it to be 2 hours and 20 minutes long and with some scenes, it felt like they were just never ending. It also felt like it took way too long to get to the actual main heist with it, again, taking about half the runtime to actually get to. Normally I wouldn’t mind this as the film needs to set up the characters and their relationships like Hemsworth and Ruffalo’s Lou Lubesnick, but here there are too many characters for them to establish – which is somehow a negative and a positive at the same time.
The films strongest aspect is easily its cast. It is absolutely stacked and if it wasn’t a film the Oscars don’t like, it would have a good chance at winning best casting next year. And all of them are perfectly cast and pulling their weight. I didn’t think Hemsworth would be able to pull off being a socially awkward, autistic coded person but I’m actually surprised on how well he actually did. Mark Ruffalo is born to play an honest cop who is getting to old for this, Halle Berry is just perfect – I don’t think that needs any elaboration. Barry Keoghan is exceptional at playing a slimy LA criminal.
One of the best ensemble cast in recent years.
The cinematography is another aspect that the film excels in. There are so many shots that had me in awe, especially whenever a car was used. The shots of the camera moving with car doors or how Keoghan’s bike stand helped frame the shot were all fantastic. I loved the way that the film use’s reflections as well.
A lot of the time it was done so well that I didn’t even notice that I was looking at the reflections until the camera either started moving or the shot changed. The wide establishing shots of LA also looked incredible – capturing the beauty of the city with its gorgeous colour grading. When it showed the two different sides of traffic with white and red car light, it looked stunning. But it also captures the roughness and how rundown some areas are by showing the amount of homelessness there is.
With this it briefly touched on subjects such as classism but it isn’t really a focus point. What is a focus point is ageism and how unfairly it’s used to treat women – and that’s where Berry shines. Using her to tackle this issue is genius because I would have never have guessed that her character is meant to be 53 – I never would have guessed her real age either.
Crime 101 is exactly the type of film you think you’re seeing but is never tired with its exciting action, sleek and stunning cinematography and an impeccable ensemble cast – even if there is too much happening in its bloated runtime.
Crime 101 is now playing at the Lockworks.